The market has closed flat, the S&P/ASX200 added just 0.3 points to 4583.1, while the broader All Ords inched up 2.2 points to 4595.1.

3:54pm on 14 Dec 2012

ANZ's delay in passing on the RBA's rate cut has helped the bank net a greater amount through saved interest income than its rivals, BusinessDay's Glenda Kwek notes:

For 2012, ANZ is estimated to have generated about $111 million in additional revenues as it delayed passing on rate cuts following the RBA's four reductions.

According to JPMorgan analyst Scott Manning in a report published in BusinessDay on Monday, each of the major banks ‘‘makes somewhere in the order of $2 million each day that it does not pass on the rate cut’’.

For this month, the bank was estimated to net about $25 million in interest income in passing on the rate cut 17 days after the RBA announcement.

3:35pm on 14 Dec 2012

Nine Entertainment made a $972 million loss last financial year ending June 30 as the media group headed for collapse.

In financial reports just released to the corporate regulator, Nine confirmed its dire financial condition at the time with a $783 million write down on the value of its assets last year.

This means the company recorded asset impairments totalling more than $1.5 billion over two years.

GPT Group has said it will pursue a proposal to buy Australand's commercial and industrial assets, as it believes it’s in the best interests of Australand’s and GPT’s security holders.

This was in response to news this morning that Australand had rejected any advances from GPT which lodged an ''indicative'' offer earlier this week.

In a short statement issued this afternoon, GPT says its proposal is in line with its strategy, announced in June 2012, to increase its portfolio exposure to office, logistics and business parks and achieve a more balanced sector weighting.

Recent monthly gains in house prices across most capital cities suggest house prices have passed their floor. Supportive housing demand/supply fundamentals, improved housing affordability and increased housing sales in recent months foreshadow moderate increases in house prices on average in 2013.

Lower house prices and interest rates, combined with rising household incomes have improved housing affordability over the last two years. In the absence of strong growth in house prices, the economic outlook should drive further improvement in housing affordability in 2013.

Dwelling construction remains weak and well below our estimates of underlying housing demand. While recent increases in building approvals suggest we are in the early stages of a cyclical rebound in residential construction, the current cyclical upturn will most likely be subdued compared to previous cycles.

Investors who lost money through the $3 billion collapse of Storm Financial are suing the Bank of Queensland (BoQ) over its role in the group’s demise.

Lawyers acting for the investors filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court on Friday as part of a class action which aims to recoup some of their losses.

The bank said the amount of the claim had not been quantified.

2:39pm on 14 Dec 2012

ANZ has just announced it will cut its variable interest rate for mortgages by 20 basis, to 6.4 per cent, effective December 21.

Last week, the RBA lowered the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 3 per cent, hitting the record lows last seen during the GFC.

2:30pm on 14 Dec 2012

Chinese labour arbitrators have ruled against the father of a Foxconn worker brain-damaged in a factory accident in southern China, in a case that puts more attention on the labour practices of Apple Inc's largest contract manufacturer.

The case involves Zhang Tingzhen, a 26-year-old engineer who had nearly half his brain surgically removed after surviving an electric shock in October 2011.

His plight came to light after it was reported that Taiwan firm Foxconn had sent telephone text messages to his family telling them it would cut off funds for his treatment and other expenses if they did not remove him from hospital in Shenzhen city and submit him for a disability assessment 70 km away in Huizhou, where the company says he was hired.

His father, Zhang Guangde, took Foxconn to the arbitration office in October this year insisting that his son was hired in Shenzhen and not Huizhou, where factory wages and compensation levels are substantially lower.

Foxconn has said that wages for engineers are the same in Huizhou and Shenzhen, but since compensation for injuries varies between locations, the company would make up any difference.

In official documents seen on today, the Shenzhen labour dispute arbitration committee ruled against the father. It said the company had produced a contract dated August 4 2011, showing that the young engineer was hired by its Huizhou facility.

2:17pm on 14 Dec 2012

Google has collated its annual top searches, and among the most popular this year for small business relate to making money, working from home and winding up a business.

The dollar, which fell a third of a US cent overnight has made up a bit of ground thanks to the Chinese PMI data.

The dollar rose from $US1.0511 just after noon to a high of $US1.0538 on the news that the HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI had risen to 50.9, a 14-month high.

Speaking this morning, ForexCT head of research Steven Dooley said he expected the Chinese data to drive the dollar during the afternoon session, but predicted that the focus from now on would be US political discussions about the fiscal cliff.

‘‘Everyone knew that we were going to get some more quantitative easing from the Fed. Once we got that announcement there was no where really left to go. Now quantitative easing is behind us the only real thing for markets to focus on now is the fiscal cliff. It’s going to build to a crescendo at the end of the year."

The Motley Fool’s Scott Phillips has been seeking investment advice from an unusual source - William Shakespeare:

Although not a particularly successful investor, the Bard left us with some turns of phrase that investors would do well to embrace. All the glisters is not gold for instance:

"We're tempted to throw caution to the wind and go for the ride. And by the time the market has surrendered to this ‘new truth’, we're ever closer to the painful end. You know what happens next. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Since Shakespeare's time, that's been good advice.’’

While the market is still trading relatively flat, it did enjoy a slight bump up at 12.45pm, on the news that China's manufacturing sector growth had hit 14-month highs.

1:22pm on 14 Dec 2012

Macmahon Holdings’ shares have dropped significantly after resuming trade following an $80.7 million capital raising and sale of its construction business.

Shares in the mining contractor were 8.1 per cent lower at 20.50 cents, after earlier sliding as much as 19.3 per cent to 18 cents.

The stock had last traded at 26.5 cents before going into a trading halt on Monday.

Two days later it announced the capital raising, the sale of its construction arm to Leighton Holdings for $16.3 million, and downgraded its full year earnings guidance.

1:03pm on 14 Dec 2012

CBA economist Michael Workman had some interesting thoughts about the week ahead as we wrap-up for Christmas:

The markets should be in “wind‑down” mode. Data releases are petering out in the run‑up to the Christmas‑New Year break. The only potential problem for financial markets is in the US, where the political impasse continues. Negotiations over the “fiscal cliff”, on past evidence, could exceed the deadlines, causing dislocation and uncertainty in financial markets until a deal is achieved. The Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, indicated during the week that the Fed will not be able to offset the negative effects on economic growth if negotiations are not successful.

In Australia, the markets will have the RBA December Board minutes to analyse. The reasons for cutting the cash rate in December, to 3.0%, following the no move in November could be illuminating. The ABS will also release updated June quarter population data. Any shift in population growth trends could be important for groups involved in housing markets around the country. Western Australia’s annual population growth is running at 3%, compared to the national figure of 1.4%. The next major data releases will be RBA credit on 31 December followed, in the second week of January, by international trade, retail trade and building approvals.

12:49pm on 14 Dec 2012

The HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI, which measures growth in China's manufacturing sector has risen to 50.9, a 14-month high.

A figure above 50 indicates that growth is accelerating, while one below 50 shows slowing growth.